Slivers of Hope
by littlesleepingbird
Summary: Lily & Harry survive Voldemort's attack on Halloween night, 1981. James Potter sacrifices himself to save his family. In her grief, Lily takes Harry and retreats into the muggle world where she gives birth to her second child, a daughter. After settling down, she opens a specialty bookstore that a certain bushy-haired muggleborn witch frequents.


**Welcome to my latest "Nearly Everything is AU" fic!**

I grabbed the idea from Charlie H. over on the Harmony & Co. group on Facebook. (If you're not a member there, you certainly SHOULD be. Especially if you love Harmony stories!)

Here's her original prompt:

 _Lily and Harry both survived Voldemort's attack in Godric's on Halloween 1981. It was James who's sacrifice saved his family._

 _In her grief, Lily took Harry and retreated into the muggle world where she gave birth to her second child several months later (a girl) and after settling down, she opens a specialty bookstore that a certain bushy-haired muggleborn witch frequents._

 _A slow burn harmony where Harry is raised by his mother alongside a little sister and occasional visits from his dad's two best friends (Remus and Sirius)._

As a note, please know this story, while fun and full of blossoming potential and ideas, is rather low on my priority list at the moment, as I've already got a ton of ongoing WIP's and am working on a Nano fic. I won't be updating with any set regularity, but I will do my best!

And because it's an Allthosepeopleactuallylived! Fic, I decided ya'll need my fancasts, too.

Lily Potter - Karen Gillian  
Sirius Black (who won't be imprisoned) - Ben Barnes  
Remus Lupin - Andrew Garfield  
Severus Snape - Adrian Brody

 **Enjoy! :)**

* * *

 **Godric's Hollow  
** _October 31, 1981_

Lily Potter stumbled into the hallway of her burning home, her young son cradled in her arms. Her throat was raw, from the smoke or her own screams, perhaps both, she couldn't truly tell. Dazed, the woman limped towards the staircase, thinking only of escaping the ruins of her life that currently smoldered around her.

An attack. She'd not been expecting an attack. Not tonight. Not here. They were supposed to be protected. Dumbledore swore they were _safe_.

The cottage in Godric's Hollow was purchased for the young Potter family as a wedding gift from her husband's parents, Euphemia and Fleamont. The elder couple knew how much Lily adored Wizarding history, and since the Potter family originated from this quaint village town, a better location to start a family could not be found.

James and Lily Potter had moved in immediately following their wedding and despite the war and the danger they were facing, the two were happy, growing their love in leaps and bounds, and soon their family along with it.

Harry Potter, son to James and Lily, was the apple of his parent's eye. Harry was born nearly a year after his parent's wedding, in July of 1980. A wild head of black hair and vibrant green eyes, tan skin and a laugh that would melt any heart, the young boy was the pride of the Potter family and adored by anyone who met him.

James and Lily had spent the last few years working diligently with the Order of the Phoenix, fighting the Wizarding War against the Dark Lord, Voldemort. Only in the past few months had they been relegated to the sidelines, placed under a strong fidelius ward, because of a prophecy made about their child. They had no further information but trusted in Dumbledore and the secret keeper he'd helped to choose for their family, a longtime friend of James', Peter Pettigrew. Originally, the family had requested Sirius Black as secret keeper, but with his own dark familial ties to Voldemort through his brother Regulus and cousin Bellatrix, Peter felt a safer decision.

As Lily crept down the stairs, alert and on edge, with her wand clasped tightly in the hand not gripping her young son, she swore the name of Dumbledore and vowed never to trust the man with her own, or her son's safety again. While she realized that logically the tragedy unfolding this evening may not have anything to do with the old wizard, her trust was shattered and left rotting in her heart, and she'd rather eat nails then risk her child and her life, _again._

Despite the home being warded with the fidelius, Voldemort had made his way into the house, into their sanctuary. Her husband, the foolish man, brave man, had leaped into action, dueling viciously with the Dark Lord in an attempt to protect his wife and child, and when the time came, he lowered his wand with a whisper, letting an ancient Potter family protection spell pass his lips, one Lily had only heard about in passing, it was so rarely used.

The bright bolt of green hit her husband square in the chest, wrenching a scream from her and the son she gripped tightly. But then the Avada Kedavra did something she'd never seen before, something she'd never heard of or read of, and still even as she climbed through the wreckage, did not understand.

The spell cracked, feeding partially into her husband who lay motionless before her, the other half ricocheting back into the caster.

Voldemort howled, a scream filled with rage and agony that seemed to reach the depth of her bones, before crumbling to dust, robes and all.

Lily had wanted nothing more than to hit her knees next to her husband and wail at the injustice of her loss. And she did, but only for a moment. Maternal instincts guided her to escape the home she loved, to leave this place behind her.

Unbeknownst to her, with Voldemorts spontaneous combustion, his magical essence fed back into his marked Death Eaters, causing a violent reaction within them, painful and wicked, the marks on their skin burned like fire before fading to dull grey smudges.

One of these men, Death Eater Severus Snape, childhood friend to Lily, realized quickly the implication of the faded mark, and instead of reporting to his current overseer, Albus Dumbledore, Severus chose to apparate, wand raised and ready, to the only place he knew the Dark Lord may have fallen. Godric's Hollow.

He arrived with a loud crack, spinning quickly to take in the burning home before him. Immediately aware that simply being able to see the home meant the fidelius charm had been broken, he strode with purpose towards the flaming two-story cottage. The second floor of the home was in shambles, crumbling and falling to the lawn and street below as it burned, and in minutes, he was certain the rest of the home would be alight as well.

As he reached the door, wrenching it open, a soft gasp came from the back corner of the kitchen he'd walked into. _Lily._ There she was, red hair tangled wildly into a bun atop her head, with her son clenched in her arms. He hadn't seen her in years. He'd become a spy for the light _for_ her, because of her, because of what he'd heard and what he shared with the Dark Lord, but he never expected to see her like this, a look of crazed desperation on her face, her wand pointed brazenly in his direction.

He raised his hands up in a gesture of surrender, not wanting her to think he was there to finish the job the Dark Lord had started. "Lily" he whispered gently.

"What are you doing here?" she rasped out, voice grating her raw throat.

She took a small step forward, and he could tell she was preparing to cast a spell in his direction. Before the words could leave her lips, several loud cracks ripped through the air outside the home.

Severus' eyes widened, realizing how quickly the other Death Eater's must've realized what had happened this night and come seeking their own answers, or revenge.

"You must leave," he exclaimed, not moving from his spot against the wall, "Lily. Take your boy. Leave now. Hide, with the Order, with muggles, it doesn't matter. They'll kill you."

Lily furrowed a brow in his direction, confused and scared, grief wracking her thoughts, her body trembling. The voices outside the home grew louder as the flames within the small house grew hotter.

With a quick nod in Severus' direction, Lily shifted her son on her hip, ensuring he was ensconced safely in her arms, lifted her wand and apparated away.


End file.
